Skechers Sues Adidas over Payments Made to College, HS Basketball Players

Skechers has filed a lawsuit against Adidas over the apparel company allegedly paying amateur athletes before they turned pro. 

Per ESPN's Mark Schlabach, Skechers is stating in its lawsuit that the payments made from Adidas prevented other apparel companies "from competing on a level playing field for young, NBA-level endorsers, and unfairly bolstered consumer perception of Adidas' overall brand quality and image well beyond the basketball footwear market."

A spokesperson for Adidas called the lawsuit "frivolous and nonsensical."

Adidas' head of sports marketing, Jim Gatto, and employee Merl Code were among the group of 10 arrested by the FBI last September in connection to a corruption and bribery scandal involving college basketball programs and recruits. 

In February, Yahoo Sports' Pat Forde and Pete Thamel obtained documents and bank records from the FBI investigation that showed at least 20 Division I basketball programs and more than 25 players could be in violation of NCAA rules for receiving impermissible benefits. 

Schlabach noted the 10 arrested are currently scheduled to go to trial at the United States District Court in New York in October.